Keep 'Em Coming
by fagur fiskur
Summary: John's gone off on a hunt, leaving the boys alone in a small town in Colorado. Dean gets a job at a bookstore, and grows weirdly close to his boss. Sam isn't sure what's going on between them, but he knows it's something. Dean/Castiel, Sam/OFC.


**A/N:** 30 (more) cheesy tropes: #10 Outsider POV

Title taken from The Days by Avicii

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><p><strong>Keep 'Em Coming<strong>

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><p>Calhan, Colorado is the kind of town where everyone knows everyone. With a population of about eight hundred and only one high school, any newcomers are subject to a lot of scrutiny.<p>

Sam really doesn't like the attention, but the people are nice enough. Dad isn't with them, which is even better, and they're staying in some apartment a friend of his owns (well, Dad said friend, but Sam suspects it's just a fellow hunter. Dad doesn't really have friends). All in all, it's a nice set-up, even if the kids at school tend to stare at Sam like he's the most interesting thing to happen to them in years. Which, for all he knows, could be true.

Dean's picked up a job at a local bookstore, and all he's had to say about it so far is that the owner is really weird. He's home in the evenings, which is cool, and some nights it almost feels like they've got a real home.

Still, Sam knows better than to get attached. It's only a matter of time before they're on the road again.

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><p>Dean is on the phone with Dad. Sam has his homework spread out in front of him and he's taking notes, but mostly he's listening to Dean. If he strains his ears he can almost hear what Dad is saying on the other end, but he doesn't need to. Dean sounds happy, which means Dad will be back soon and they will be leaving town.<p>

Dean hates staying in the same place for too long, says it makes him feel claustrophobic, and he hates it when Dad leaves them to go hunt on his own even more. He never says so to Dad, of course, because that would mean arguing or talking back and Dean never does that. They've only been here a month, Sam thinks sullenly, and they're already leaving. At this rate, he won't graduate high school until he's thirty.

Dean hangs up and turns to Sam, who braces himself for the orders to pack his bags.

"We're gonna be here a bit longer," Dean says instead. "Dad's finished the hunt but he picked another one near Denver. Says it'll be a couple of weeks, at least."

He doesn't sound bitter about that at all. Something about it doesn't add up to Sam, but he decides not to dwell on it. Maybe there's some girl he's trying to hook up with, or maybe he's making enough money at his job that he doesn't mind the extra couple of weeks. So Dean's not bitching about them being stuck somewhere. That's a good thing.

Better not to look a gift horse in the mouth and all.

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><p>The bookstore Dean works at is tiny and cramped and filled with books. Not in the usual bookstore way; every shelf is crammed full and there are stacks of books just sitting on the floor, some of them reaching all the way to the ceiling. It's dark, too, since the big front window is nearly entirely eclipsed by books, and there's a heavy, pungent smell in the air. Sam doesn't know how Dean can stand to work in a place like this.<p>

He's sitting by the counter when Sam comes in, along with a scruffy looking dude who looks like he just rolled out of bed. They don't even notice Sam coming in, too focused on each other and their conversation. Scruffy dude says something that causes Dean to crack up.

"Hey," Sam says, approaching the counter and finally catching their attention.

"Hey, Sammy," Dean says. "School's out already?"

Sam stares at him incredulously. "It's almost six."

"Really?" Dean turns and looks at the clock on the wall. "Huh. What d'ya know. Think it's time to start closing, Cas?"

Scruffy dude - Cas, apparently - frowns. "I suppose it is."

"You mind grabbing some dinner while we close?" Dean asks Sam. "There's a pizza place on the corner."

Sam nods, feeling a little unsettled by the whole situation. He can't even put his finger on why. Maybe it's just Dean losing track of time like that, at a bookstore of all places. Whatever it is, Sam can't shake the feeling that he was interrupting something, and he's grateful Dean asked him to leave.

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><p>Cas joins them for dinner. It's a little weird at first, especially when Dean explains that Cas owns the bookstore, which makes him Dean's boss.<p>

But Cas is nice, and being around him seems to put Dean in a good mood. Anyone who can make his brother smile like that is all right by Sam. Dean really doesn't have enough friends. It's not like he can't make them, it's just that he never really tries, so seeing him joking around with Cas makes Sam feel better. Not that he'd ever tell Dean that; he seems to be under the delusion that just because Sam is the younger brother, that means he can't worry about Dean.

Whatever. Cas is nice, is the point. Not for the first time, Sam is kind of dreading having to leave Calhan.

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><p>Sam is pretty sure that Maggie Barton in homeroom likes him. He's caught her looking at him a few times and she's always playing with her hair and touching him on the arm or shoulder when she talks to him, which Sam is pretty sure means she's flirting. But he doesn't want to get his hopes up. Maggie Barton is like ten kinds of hot and way out of his league. Maybe she's just being friendly.<p>

She's sometimes waiting by his locker when Sam gets there, but that doesn't have to mean anything either. Her locker is almost right next to his.

She's waiting there now, and the way she looks at Sam almost has him tripping over his own feet. He manages to right himself at the last moment and he can feel himself blushing. Why can't he be more like Dean when it comes to girls?

"Hey, Sam," Maggie says, leaning against his locker and smiling sweetly.

"Hey," Sam says, voice miraculously even.

She's playing with her hair again. It looks really soft. "So, my parents are out of town this weekend. I'm inviting a few people over Friday night and I was wondering if you wanted to come?"

"Sure," Sam blurts. He probably sounds way too eager but Maggie's smile just widens.

"Eight o'clock. Don't be late."

Then she's walking away, leaving behind a faint coconut smell. Sam turns to his locker, trying to get his heartbeat under control. This is no big deal, right? It's just a party. It's not like Sam hasn't been to parties before.

Right.

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><p>"So you think you're gonna score with this chick tomorrow, or what?"<p>

Sam looks up from his book to glare at his brother, but surprisingly enough, it's Cas who speaks up.

"I don't think it's appropriate for you to refer to a high school student in that manner."

"Whatever," Dean says, rolling his eyes.

They're at the bookstore. Sam still feels kind of like he's intruding whenever he hangs out there with Dean and Cas but he's doing his best to ignore that feeling. They're in a public place, after all, so what's there for him to be intruding on?

"I'm not even sure she likes me," Sam interjects.

"What are you talking about, of course she likes you," Dean says. Then, of course, he ruins it by adding, "Are you sure you don't want me to buy you booze?"

"You're not even twenty-one yet," Sam reminds him.

Dean waves his hand dismissively. "I will be in a few months. Besides, my fake I.D. works just as good as a real one."

Cas clears his throat. "I should probably not be hearing this."

"What are you gonna do?" Dean grins at him. "Call the cops on me?"

"I just might."

Cas is grinning too, which just looks strange. Sam's eyes dart between the two of them and that feeling of intruding grows ten-fold. He still can't figure out what's so off about the way Dean and Cas interact, but it's something.

Then the moment's over, and Dean turns his attention back on Sam. "C'mon, just a couple of beers."

"I thought my peers were the ones who were supposed to do the pressuring."

"Don't be such a wuss, dude."

"Fine," Sam says, caving. It isn't even that he doesn't want to drink, so much as he feels inappropriate to be talking about it in front of Dean's boss. "Just a couple of beers, though."

"Not an ounce more," Dean promises.

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><p>Shockingly enough, Dean keeps his word and only buys Sam two bottles of some local brew. By the time Sam heads off to Maggie Barton's house, he's wishing Dean had ignored him. His stomach is twisting itself into knots at the thought of Maggie Barton and her soft-looking hair and her coconut smell. He could use something to calm his nerves.<p>

He's finished one bottle out of two by the time he gets to Maggie Barton's, an hour late because he spent way too long deciding what to wear (and screw Dean, guys think about that stuff, too. Especially when they have a shot at someone like Maggie Barton).

It's obvious as soon as he enters the street that Maggie's definition of 'a few' is pretty loose. There are already enough people there so that the party has spilled into the front yard. And they're loud, too. Sam wouldn't be surprised if someone has already called the police to complain about the noise.

All the more reason to stop being a coward and find Maggie Barton right away.

Sam slips unnoticed by the people outside. The entrance hall is crowded, the living room is crowded, the kitchen is messy _and_ crowded. It looks like everyone in their year and the adjacent ones got invited; Sam didn't even know there _were_ this many teenagers in Calhan.

"Sam!"

Sam's heart starts beating faster before he even realizes who called his name. He turns around and there she is: Maggie Barton, in a tight red dress, her dark curls bouncing with every step. She's smiling at him, looks so happy to see him, and Sam can't breathe. She really is the most beautiful girl he's ever seen.

And then she's pulling him into a hug, arms wrapping around his shoulders, her breasts pressing against his chest, her hair tickling his nose. It still smells like coconuts. "I'm so happy you made it."

"I," Sam says, carefully returning the hug. "Yeah. M-me too."

Maggie pulls away, but she immediately grabs Sam's hand. "Come on, there's punch in the kitchen."

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><p>The police show up not half an hour later to break up the party. Sam can't find it in him to care, though. Tonight, he got to hug Maggie Barton. He got to drink punch that tasted mostly like cheap vodka with Maggie Barton, got to look at her smile shyly at him over the rim of her cup.<p>

He got to hold Maggie Barton's hand as she pulled him towards her bedroom. Got to sit down on Maggie Barton's bed, got to put his hands on her waist and kiss her until he couldn't breathe.

Yeah, it's been a good night, even if it did get cut pretty short. Sam hasn't had more than one beer and half a cup of punch, but he feels light-headed and giddy as he walks home.

The lights are still on in the living room when Sam gets back to the apartment, and it sounds like Dean is watching TV. Sam briefly debates just sneaking into bed so Dean won't interrogate him, but dismisses the idea. He knows better. Dean will freak if he doesn't see Sam come back.

As he's approaching the living room, a strange, vaguely familiar smell hits Sam. It takes him a couple of moments to realize where he's smelled it before - the bookstore Dean works at.

Before Sam has the chance to wonder why their apartment smells like Cas' bookstore, he spots Dean and Cas on the couch. They're both topless for some reason, and Cas is smoking. Not a cigarette, Sam realizes with a start, but a joint.

No sooner has the realization hit (_what is Cas doing with a joint, he's an adult_) than Cas puts his hand on the back of Dean's neck and pulls him in. At first Sam is sure they're gonna kiss, but no, there's smoke passing from Cas' mouth and into Dean's. They're shotgunning.

Neither one of them has noticed Sam. They can't seem to take their eyes off each other, and Sam wonders if it's just the weed or if this is something that's been around for longer.

Then again, it's none of Sam's business.

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><p>They leave Calhan two weeks later. Maggie cries when Sam tells her, but she doesn't offer her phone number so they can keep in touch, and Sam doesn't ask. Attempting a long-distance relationship at sixteen probably isn't a good idea.<p>

Dean doesn't even try to protest the move, but Sam can tell by the set of his jaw that he isn't happy. If Dad picks up on it, he sure as hell doesn't care. But what else is new.

Just as they've finished packing up, Sam finds a piece of paper on the kitchen counter. There's a number written on it and some message underneath, but before Sam has a chance to read it, Dean's snatched it up.

"What is that?" Sam asks.

"None of your business, squirt," Dean replies, which is just really unfair. Sam's almost as tall as Dean is now.

Whatever. Like Sam needs to be told to figure out that Cas' number is on that piece of paper. "Are you gonna call him?"

Dean glares at him. Then he looks away and instead of snapping at Sam again, says, "I don't know. Maybe."

"You should."

Sam isn't sure what exactly Dean and Cas' relationship is or was, but he does know that being around Cas makes Dean happy, and there's not enough things that do. Dean deserves to be happy.

Dean doesn't answer, but Sam can see him sneak the phone number into his pocket. Then Dad comes in, snapping at them to hurry up. They grab the rest of their bags and carry them out to the car.

They drive past Cas' bookstore on their way out of town. Sam glances at Dean, who's sitting in the front seat. He's staring straight at the road ahead and his expression is impossible to read.

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><p><strong>AN: **see my tumblr (link on my author's page) for drabbles that are too short to post here and scenes from upcoming fic


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